My Long Range Setup

So a few years ago a good friend of mine introduced me to "The Best of The West." now I've always been a hunter, not afraid of long shots, but until I saw this show I didn't know this world even existed.

That was 2008. Now in 2012 I finally have things set up. I shoot a Howa 1500 300 WM, I got it because it has the magnum length action and I could seat Berger Bullets as long as I needed to. I use a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50 scope with a mil-dot reticle, set up on a 20 MOA rail and leupold rings. I don't like that it has a 24" barrel, but one thing at a time.

The load it likes best is 200 gr Sierra Gamekings over 78 grs of Retumbo powder. It shoots about 2950 fps. Shoots about 3/4" groups. I tried Berger Bullets, but wasn't overly impressed with their terminal performance.

I got it worked out to 700 yards before we turned the cows back in, but sence I'm new here, I just thought I'd run it past you guys, get some feed back, suggestions, or rude remarks. I'm on a budget, so nothing too radical please. Happy Shooting!

Welcome to LRH! Sounds like you have a sweet setup to me. Very little that the 300 Win Mag won't do for you even with a 24 inch barrel. That is a sweet, packable and capable shooter out to 1/2 mile if things are working as they should.

What do you plan on shooting with it?

Have you done anything to the Howa stock, ie bedded it or relieved around the barrel? I have a couple old Howa's that I never did bed but just floated the barrel and just doing that really shrunk the groups. You are getting pretty good groups now but that may be something you want to do and you can do it for free!

Not that you need more BC for only 700 yards but just in case you don't know there are quite a few bullets that offer more BC if you can get them to shoot. If nothing else it will help with wind drift which is the biggest nemesis to most LR shots. The 208 gr A-max would be a sweet bullet for deer and under in your gun. I would use it for elk too if I was sure of the shot and could stay away from the leg bone/shoulder joint. You have to be careful with up close shots out of a powerful gun like the Win Mag though with the A-max. Having said that, I am not sure it is much more frangible than the game king.

Sorry, should have mentioned that. I hunt mule deer and elk, I'd love to hunt sheep and moose if I can ever draw a dang tag!

My rifle has the hogue over mould stock and came fully floated and pillar bedded. I had the action squared.

I always thought the a-max was a target bullet? Maybe not?

I went with the gameking because of the higher BC, .530 not as high as some, but not bad, and they shoot great. With a 200 gr bullet I have more downrange energy than the 185 Bergers I was shooting.

My friend that got me into this game shot a moose in 2010, and we weren't impressed with the Bergers. 185 gr out of a 300 weatherby. They killed the moose at about 50 yards and the bullet didn't really penetrate very well. Just kinda blew up.

Sorry, should have mentioned that. I hunt mule deer and elk, I'd love to hunt sheep and moose if I can ever draw a dang tag!

My rifle has the hogue over mould stock and came fully floated. I always thought the a-max was a target bullet? Maybe not?

I went with the gameking because of the higher BC, .530 not as high as some, but not bad, and they shoot great. With a 200 gr bullet I have more downrange energy than the 185 Bergers I was shooting.

My friend that got me into this game shot a moose in 2010, and we went impressed with the Bergers. 185 gr out of a 300 weatherby. They killed the moose at about 50 yards and the bullet didn't really penetrate very well. Just kinda blew up.

A-max's are a target bullet but because of that they have a great BC and they expand well. This is the big advantage for LR shooting. With most premium hunting bullets, I am not sure about this with the Game King, you need down range velocity of 1800-2000 fps to ensure acceptable expansion for terminal performance. Many will argue that those minimums still aren't enough and will use 2000-2100 fps. With the A-max though you get great expansion down to 1100-1500 fps depending on what caliber and bullet you are shooting. This is a big range extender and the extra terminal benefits are exactly what I look for in a hunting bullet. Do a search on them here. Lots of good info if you are interested.

The bergers are meant to shed most of their weight by design but are not supposed to come apart until they are 2-3 inches inside. A 300 weatherby at 50 yards is a pretty nasty test for most big game bullets. My guess is that you would be happier if you saw performance at normal distances.

Sounds like you have a pretty nice set-up. I just shot a vortex viper 6.5x20 the other day and was very impressed. I do shoot berger bullets and think the're great for shots beyond 300 yards, atleast in my 25-06. Up close, they are a little........messy.